


Hawkeye: The Gamer

by TheSpeedOfZoran



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Clint Barton, F/M, Gen, New Origin Story, Power of the Gamer, The Gamer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-05-26 19:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15007604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpeedOfZoran/pseuds/TheSpeedOfZoran
Summary: Clint Barton had a strange life. Now a SHIELD Recruit at the age of 16, his life will only get stranger. Gifted with the power of the Gamer by allies from the future, Hawkeye is ready to shake up the MCU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Percy Jackson and the Game

**Prologue-**  


Clint Barton sat in the middle of a SHIELD gym listening to the instructor, Mr. Rollins. Clint rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time as Rollins demonstrated moves Clint learned when he was 8.

 

Rollins ordered the recruits to partner up. Clint was 16 years old, a good 4 to 5 years younger than the rest of his peers. SHIELD didn't recruit anyone under the age of 20 but apparently Clint was the exception.

 

The they were practicing was a basic 1-2 jab. Clint fought the urge to bang his head on the wall for being stuck in "Basic Combat Training". Honestly, the word Basic was generous. Any fool with access to Wiki How could learn this is 10 minutes.

 

Clint silently observed his partner. 6'0, black hair and blue eyed. He looked to be around 21,22 and wore a cocky smirk on his face that suggested to Clint he was one of those people were more confident then they had a right to be. When his eyes landed on Clint, he snorted.

 

Clint clenched his teeth and resisted growling at his partner. He obviously underestimated him due to his age. Arrogant Asshole (Clint thought this name fit him perfectly) swaggered over to Clint.

 

"Don't worry, i'll try not to hurt you to bad little buddy."

 

He reached over and in a demeaning way, ruffled Clint's hair. Like he was a child. Clint's eye twitched.

 

_I swear to fucking God, he does one more thing and I will lose it!_

 

Clint started strapping on his boxing gloves to block for him. Arrogant Asshole, took this chance and demonstrated the 1-2 jab on him. Not expecting it, Clint found himself on the ground.

"That's it!" Clint snapped.

 

"Aw, it looks like this class is too advanced for a little tyke like you."

 

Clint jumped up and palm striked the man's solar plexus. Arrogant Asshole stumbled back several feet, gasping for air before he hit the ground.

 

Clint let the man recover before he stumbled up and threw what Clint could say was the worst hook he'd ever seen.

 

Clint easily sidestepped and as he charged by, Clint clotheslined him.

 

The man fell to the ground moaning in pain.

 

"Barton!" Rollins yelled.

"What the hell did you do?!"

 

Clint shrugged, not feeling an ounce of remorse.

 

Rollins pulled out a walkie-talkie.

 

"This is Agent Rollins, get me a medical team in here."

He glanced at Clint.

 

"And Agent Coulson."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Would it help if I said it won't happen again?" Clint offered.

 

Agent Phil Coulson groaned in frustration. Standing at 6'0, with thinning brown hair and brown eyes, he looked ordinary and average. But Clint knew that to be far from the truth.

 

Coulson recruited Clint about 3 months ago, when he was injured carrying out hits as an assassin for hire. Due to his seemingly supernatural aim, Clint or "Hawkeye" as he was dubbed quickly became infamous in the criminal world.

 

Rumored to have never missed a shot, Clint appeared on SHIELD's radar 4 months after he escaped military prison for lying about his age. Coulson was sent to bring him in after in one particular assassination where he sniped his target from 4000 meters away, blowing past the world record of 3500 meters.

"Barton, the World Security Council is searching for ways to give Fury the termination order."

 

Clint winced. The WSC hadn't liked Coulson or Fury's decision to bring in an assassin especially a teenage one with some serious issues.

"Am I being punished?" Clint questioned.

 

"The opposite, actually" Coulson replied.

 

Clint frowned. He was being rewarded for landing his fellow trainee in the hospital?

"What are you talking about?"

 

"I reviewed the footage from the cams, I saw you fighting."

 

"I'm getting promoted because I have kick-ass fighting skills?" Clint questioned.

 

"Partly. But the main reason is restraint. The you from a few months ago would've snapped at even being in that class. You showed restraint." Coulson said actually sounding impressed.

 

Clint grinned at that.

 

"So what happens to me now?"

 

"Now, you become an Agent in training. Normally, it would take 2 years for any other recruit to be considered for that status." Coulson said.

 

"In a couple of months, provided everything goes well, you'll receive Level 1 clearance."

 

"How many levels are there?" Clint asked.

 

Coulson smirked. "That's classified."

 

Clint groaned at his response. They finished up soon after that and Clint headed to his quarters to get some sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Many years in the future..._

 

A man with a bow could be seen talking to another man in a red cloak.

 

"What's wrong Strange?" the man with the bow questioned.

 

"I glanced into the future with the time stone. Out of 14 million possible scenarios, we beat Thanos zero times."

 

"What!?" the bow man said in shock.

 

"You're saying were screwed, no matter what we do."

 

"No." the man with the red clock replied.

 

"I have an idea. Using the time stone, I will arm your past self with abilities."

 

"We overcame our differences to fight Thanos too little, too late. But if I gift these powers to you, we will have more time. You can stop Tony and Steve's Civil War. You can stop Fury and Coulson's death. You can recruit more heroes. You can bring us together, stronger than before."

 

"Are you sure this will work?" the man with the bow says doubtfully.

 

"I am positive" the man in the cloak said.

 

_Back to the present..._

 

A bright, purple light illuminated young Clint Barton's room. He slept on, unaware that his life would change for the better.

 

Clint yawned, and he sat up in bed. His alarm clock read 7:30. He still had time before he had to meet Coulson.

 

Then he saw it. Clint blinked once. He rubbed his eyes. In front of Clint was a glowing purple box.

 

**You slept in a bed, your HP and MP have been restored to maximum capacity. All negative effects have been cured.**

Clint ran his hand through the box and it disappeared.

 

"Did I just imagine that?"

 

 _What was that?_ Clint wondered. It looked familiar to him somehow as if he saw something similar long ago. Suddenly, realization struck him.

 

In a voice that quivered slightly in disbelief, Clint spoke.

 

"Stats."

**Clinton Barton**

**Health- 150/150**

**Energy- 150/150**

**The Gamer**

**Title- None equipped**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT- 4**

**DEX- 12**

**INT- 3**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 0**

**MONEY: $0**

**Clinton Barton or Clint is a human, son of Stacey Barton(deceased) and Jim Barton (deceased). He ran away from home at a young age with his brother Barney. After running away from foster homes, Clint and Barney joined the circus. Clint became known as the Amazing Hawkeye from ages 6 to 13 he performed for Carson's Carnival of Traveling Wonders. He caught his mentors Trickshot and Swordsman doing illegal activities with his brother Barney. He was stabbed and left for dead. Clint survived and joined the army as a sniper. A year later he was ousted for his age and he became a contract assassin. He was recruited to SHIELD by Agent Phil Coulson.**

**"** What."

"The."

"Fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1-

**January 21st 2006**

Clint didn't know what to do.

For the past 15 minutes, Clint splashed water on his face, slammed his head on the wall of his bland SHIELD quarters,he pinched,slapped and held his breath but the floating box still appeared when he said stats.

"Holy shit, this is real!" Clint finally exclaimed.

Suddenly, he heard someone knocking at his door. Clint froze.

"Coming!" he yelled in a voice that he hoped wasn't too high.

Clint opened the door and there stood Coulson.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked, acting nonchalant.

"You were supposed to meet me in Conference Room B to begin your training."

_Shit._

Clint had totally forgotten about his meeting after his hectic morning.

"Why weren't you there?" Coulson asked.

"I... slept in?" Clint said, wincing.

He knew Coulson would not believe that excuse.

Clint had a hard time sleeping due to nightmares. He usually dreamt of the horrible things he was forced to do to survive when he was an assassin. In fact, the main reason Clint joined SHIELD was to make up for his sins. He would still be killing, but he would be killing for the good guys instead of the criminals who bid on his services.

Coulson looked at him doubtfully but thankfully let it slide.

"You're up now, get dressed and meet me there in 10." Coulson said, walking away.

Clint sighed in relief.

"Stats." he said.

**Clinton Barton**

**Level 3 XP- 0/50**

**Health- 150/150**

**Energy- 150/150**

**The Gamer**

**Title- None equipped**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT- 4**

**DEX- 12**

**INT- 3**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 0**

**MONEY: $0**

**Clinton Barton or Clint is a human, son of Stacey Barton(deceased) and Jim Barton (deceased). He ran away from home at a young age with his brother Barney. After running away from foster homes, Clint and Barney joined the circus. Clint became known as the Amazing Hawkeye from ages 6 to 13 he performed for Carson's Carnival of Traveling Wonders. He caught his mentors Trickshot and Swordsman doing illegal activities with his brother Barney. He was stabbed and left for dead. Clint survived and joined the army as a sniper. A year later he was ousted for his age and he became a contract assassin. He was recruited to SHIELD by Agent Phil Coulson.**

Clint shook his head, thinking as he got ready. Was he always like this? No, he decided. He would've noticed this before. He wasn't like this yesterday either. That means whatever happened to him happened when he was sleeping.

Suddenly, a smaller purple box appeared.

**Ping!**

**For thinking clearly and coming to a logical conclusion about your new abilities, you have gained 1 point of INT.**

**INT-4**

Clint blinked. This is how he would get better stats? Clint inspected his stats again and noted how most of them were relatively low besides his DEX. Clint guessed that made sense, he grew up in the circus and was a fantastic acrobat and a pretty fast runner.

He looked again and frowned at his level as he tied his shoes. He was only Level 3? He had hundreds of confirmed kills under his belt as a teenager and he was a fucking level 3?!

_How do I even level up?_

Ping!

_What now?_

**Quest Created!**

**Get to Conference Room B before you're late! (again!)**

**Rewards-**

**10 xp**

**Failure-**

**Disappointed Coulson**

**Less reputation with Coulson**

Clint cursed and sprinted down the grey halls of the SHIELD helicarrier. The helicarrier was a monstrosity, a flying warship that rendered Clint speechless when he first saw it.

"Excuse me!"

"Coming through!"

Clint glanced at his watch. 2 minutes.

He put his head down and sprinted, moving faster in order to get there on time.

Clint opened the door just as the clock hit 8. Right on time.

**Ping!**

**Quest Completed!**

**Get to Conference Room B before you're late! (again!)**

**Reward-**

**10 XP**

**XP- 10/50**

"Cutting it a little close." Coulson commented.

"Everything ok Clint?"

Clint looked up to answer but froze. Above Coulson's head was a floating purple box.

**Phil Coulson, Agent**

**Lvl 53**

Clint's jaw dropped. He knew Coulson was good but not _this good._

Clint felt lucky that someone with a high level was looking out for him especially, according to his stats, that his luck was a big fat 0.

"Clint?"

Clint looked up again.

"Sorry, I've been... out of it this morning."

Coulson set down a thick book in front of Clint.

Clint look at it excited but visible deflated when he saw the title.

_American History: Independence to 1914?_

Coulson smirked at Clint.

"You haven't been to school in a decade. You have a lot of catching up to do."

Clint groaned but opened the book and started reading.

6 hours later, Clint stumbled out of the room, rubbing his eyes.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Reading- LVL: 6 (83%)**

**Language: Modern English**

**Due to not being in school since 1st grade, you're reading comprehension is at a 10th grade level, 1 below what the average 16 year old knows.**

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Studying- LVL:17 (16%)**

**I guess being an assassin has it's to memorizing the target, the location and the basic intel on hits, you're able to study effectively and pick things up quicker than the average person.**

Clint was so absorbed in reading he didn't notice the wall until he hit it.

**Damage Taken!**

**HP- 149/150**

Clint got up embarrassed. He walked to the SHIELD Cafeteria as it was lunch time. Despite many people believing that the cafeteria's food was disgusting, Clint thought the food was decent.

He grabbed a slice of pizza and mystery meat and sat down alone on one of the many tables. Due to being so young, Clint didn't have any friends among the agents of SHIELD(unless he counted Coulson) but he didn't mind being alone. He swallowed a bite of his pizza.

**Ping!**

**Food consumed, health regenerating.**

**HP-150/150**

Clint's eyes widened at that. He looked at his mystery meat curiously. He always wondered what it was.

**Ping!**

**Quest Created!**

**Use "Observe" on Mystery Meat**

**Rewards-**

**5 XP, More knowledge about new powers**

Clint felt like face palming. How could he not have known about Observing something!

"Observe." Clint whispered.

**Mystery Meat-**

**Trace amounts of kangaroo and horse**

**-5 HP, -5 Energy when consumed.**

Clint ran to the bathroom.

After throwing up the little amount of pizza he ate, Clint left the bathroom.

**Ping!**

**New Skill Created!**

**Observe LVL 1 (50%)**

**By Observing a target you will receive info on said target**

**Includes- Max Energy and HP, Stats and info.**

Clint smiled, that was a useful ability especially for someone in his line of work.

Clint looked around the cafeteria and suddenly didn't feel so bad about his low level. How did you get to be 21 and still be a level 1?!

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Observe LVL 2 (33%)**

**By Observing a target you will receive info on said target**

**Includes- Max Energy and HP, Stats and info.**

Curious, Clint decided to look at his other skills.

**Skills-**

**A Gamer's Mind-**

**Allows user to calmly and logically think situations through.**

**A Gamer's Body-**

**Allows user a body that is able to live the real world like a video game**

**Physical Endurance- LVL 5 (0%)**

**Your body's durability. Increases when leveled up.**

**5% less damage from physical attacks.**

**Speaking- LVL 25 (0%)**

**Talking, duh!**

**You are fluent in 8 different languages including English, Spanish,Russian, Chinese and more.**

**Marksmanship- LVL 200 (0%)**

**How accurate you are with a weapon.**

**A rifle, pistol, a bow or even a balled up piece of paper, you never miss your target. You're the best, nothing less. Possessing a natural talent, you've honed these skills as a performer in the circus and as an assassin for hire.**

**Hand to Hand Combat- LVL 40 (0%)**

**How effective in fighting you are in a close quarters situation.**

**You currently know Boxing, Karate, Judo and some Tai Chi.**

**Swordsmanship- LVL 15 (0%)**

**Proficient**

**Bow- LVL 100 (0%)**

**Best in the world, you're practically Legolas!**

**Studying- LVL 17 (16%)**

**How quick you memorize/retain info**

**I guess being an assassin has it's to memorizing the target, the location and the basic intel on hits, you're able to study effectively and pick things up quicker than the average person.**

**Reading- LVL: 6 (83%)**

**Language: Modern English**

**Due to not being in school since 1st grade, you're reading comprehension is at a 10th grade level, 1 below what the average 16 year old knows.**

**Hearing- LVL 20 (Max)**

**You Posses Perfect Hearing!**

**Sight- LVL 50 (Max)**

**You're eyesight is something special.**

**You see better from a distance.**

**Smell- LVL 10**

**Above Average.**

**Nothing to write home about.**

**Taste- LVL 5**

**Average**

**Not good, not bad.**

**Touch- LVL 5**

**Average**

**Not good, not bad.**

**Pain Tolerance - LVL 10**

**You handle pain better than the average teen.**

**Lying- LVL 10**

**You are an above average liar.**

**The bigger the lie the less likely you will be believed.**

**Speed- LVL 25**

**You are an amazing runner.**

**Running speed- 25 mph**

**Physics- LVL 10**

**You know the basics, just enough to help you shoot in different enviorments.**

Clint smiled when he saw his Marksmanship and Bow skills. Along with his eyesight he was nicknamed "Hawkeye" due to his M.O. being a bow and arrow.

Clint brought up his stats again and frowned thoughtfully at the Title. He hit it with his finger and a new screen popped up.

According to this he had 3 titles available.

**"The Amazing Hawkeye"**

**Gained while performing in the circus, this title grants the user +5 to DEX and VIT.**

**"The Man Who Never Misses"**

**Gained by not missing a shot, this grants +10 to the skill "Marksmanship" when shooting.**

**"Catch me if you can"**

**Acquired naturally, this adds +10 to the skill "Speed"**

Clint decided to equip the "Catch me if you can" title and immediately his legs felt stronger.

Clint looked over his mostly subpar stats and decided that tomorrow, he would start to grind and get better. He would become the best field agent SHIELD had ever seen, he would make up for the innocent blood he spilled as an assassin.

**Quest Alert!**

**Clear the red out of your ledger!**

**Rewards-**

**10,000 XP, Increased rep with Coulson,Fury and other agents.**

**Failure-**

**Possible Death, Plagued with guilt and nightmares for the rest of your life**

**YES/NO**

Not even hesitating, Clint hit YES. He would do whatever it took to atone for his sins.

Clint decided to head to the gym and log his daily 2 hours that was required of every agent or recruit unless you were on a mission.

He walked in and smirked when he noticed Maria Hill beat cocky male agents while sparring. Clint liked Maria. She didn't look down on him for being young and he respected her for rising through the ranks of SHIELD so quickly. Rumors started that soon she would be Fury's second in command.

Clint silently used observe on her.

**Maria Hill, Agent**

**Level 43 XP 233/1000**

**Health- 300/300**

**Energy- 276/300**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT-9**

**DEX-10**

**INT-16**

**LUCK-7**

**WIS- 14**

**Maria Hill is a human Agent of SHIELD. After she became one of the first women(and youngest) to be apart of the Navy SEALs, SHIELD took notice of her and recruited her. Her clearance level is ? and she is quickly rising through the ranks of SHIELD. She respects you and is secretly in awe of your marksmanship. She feels bad for you for going though so much just as a teenager and likes to consider you two friends. Right now she is disappointed at the lack of challenge while sparring.**

Clint frowned at the question mark in her bio but assumed that his observe wasn't high enough to see her clearance.

Clint swiped through the box and started running to warm himself up.

**PING!**

**Due to extensive running you have gained a point of DEX.**

**DEX- 13**

Clint decided he wanted to raise his strength to at least 10. As he walked over to the weights, he heard someone call his name.

"Barton!"

He turned around and saw Maria beckoning him over.

"How do you feel about giving me a real challenge?" she asked him, smiling.

**Quest Alert!**

**Beat Maria Hill in sparring!**

**Rewards-**

**1000 XP, increased rep with fellow agents, become Maria's permanent sparring partner.**

**Failure-**

**Agents make fun of you even more about your age.**

**YES/NO**

Clint clicked YES.

"You're on Hill."


	3. Chapter 3

**January 21st 2006, SHIELD Gym**

Clint groaned as he hit the mat. He somersaulted away to create space between him and Hill.

Clint assessed the situation. He could either go on defense or attack Hill. The decision was easy for him, Clint knew his VIT was too low to be effective on defense against her.

Clint rushed forward, catching Hill off-guard due to speed. He jumped, feinting an overhead strike before kicking her under the chin.

Hill's head snapped back and she stumbled backwards like a drunken sailor.

That moment was all Clint needed to do damage. He jabbed her in the stomach before flipping over her and forcing her into a headlock.

"Yield, if you know what's good for you Hill." Clint said, smirking.

"You wish!" she shot back before elbowing the pressure point in his shoulder.

Clint groaned and released her from the headlock.

**Ping!**

**Damage** **taken!**

**HP-141/150**

She landed a few punches to the stomach before executing a roundhouse kick that sent Clint flying.

**Damage taken!**

**HP-129/150**

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Physical Endurance- LVL 6 (33%)**

**Your body's durability. Increases when leveled up.**

**6% less damage from physical attacks.**

Clint ignored the messages as he was forced on defense. Clint deflected Hill's swipes before she broke through his block.

Clint feinted a punch to her head before spinning and performing a roundhouse kick.

Hill caught his leg before smiling evilly.

_Oh shit._

Clint didn't have time to think anything else as her head smashed against his cranium. He was forced back, his vision blurry.

**Damage taken!**

**HP-117/150**

Clint backflipped before landing in a hand stand to gather himself.

**Ping!**

**Skill Created!**

**Acrobatics- LVL 26 (50%)**

**You're practically a ninja!**

Clint looked around and noticed the crowd that they had drawe- _holy shit is that Coulson and Fury?_

Clint was brought out of his thought by swipe to the stomach.

**Damage taken!**

**HP-113/150**

He caught her next one and using her momentum against her, he shoved her forwards before palm striking her exposed back.

Clint landed 4 punches to her stomach before hitting her with a nasty uppercut that forced her to the ground.

Recovering quickly, Hill swept his legs and he hit the ground, hard.

**Damage taken!**

**HP- 101/150**

She went for another strike, but Clint elbowed her away to avoid the hit.

Right as he got back up, she was on him again throwing him to the ground.

Clint grew frustrated and threw a sloppy punch that he knew would be a mistake. Hill easily caught it, and judo flipped Clint over her shoulder.

**Damage taken!**

**HP-95/150**

She put Clint in a choke, and he squirmed, gasping for air.

**Damage taken!**

**HP-87/150**

Clint managed to break her hold and he stumbled away.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Physical Endurance- LVL 8 (12%)**

**Your body's durability. Increases when leveled up.**

**8% less damage from physical attacks.**

Clint knew he would lose if he kept fighting her head on. He needed to do something she wouldn't expect, something that surprised her.

Clint thought back to the brawls he was in at many foster homes. Back when he didn't really know how to fight. Clint assessed the fight again. Hill could counter most of his moves, and dish back some Clint couldn't.

Clint sighed. If he wanted to win he needed to be unpredictable, but this pretty much went against all his values.

He sprinted towards Hill, who assumed a defensive position. She was ready for any kick or punch he executed.

Which is why he hit her cheek with the cupped palm of his hand. Hard.

Yes,he Clint Barton just slapped a woman. But in his defense, what else could he do to win?

Hill looked at him with wide, surprised eyes and that's all Clint needed.

He delivered half a dozen successful punches to her stomach before jumping up, putting his hands around her neck in mid-air, and slammed her to the ground.

After a few moments, Hill tapped out.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Hand to Hand Combat- LVL 23 (41%)**

**How effective in fighting you are in a close quarters situation.**

**You currently know Boxing, Karate, Judo and some Tai Chi.**

Clint helped her up.

"Sorry." he said wincing when he saw a red handprint on her face.

"Are you kidding?!" she replied.

"That was amazing! I haven't had a fight like that in ages!"

**Quest Completed!**

**Beat Maria Hill in sparring!**

**Rewards-**

**100 XP, increased rep with fellow agents, become Maria's permanent sparring partner.**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Level up!**

**3-5**

**2 stat points have been gained!**

**Clinton Barton**

**Level 5 XP-** 20/70

**Health- 150/150**

**Energy- 150/150**

**The Gamer**

**Title- None equipped**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT- 4**

**DEX- 12**

**INT- 3**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 2**

**MONEY: $0**

"Same time next week?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure" Clint said sounding dejected.

Clint thought he would feel great after beating someone like Hill, but he felt disappointed. Hill exposed his pretty much non-existent defense too many times than Clint was comfortable with. If he hadn't slapped her, he would have for sure lost. Clint knew, 9 times out of 10, Hill would win in a fight if he stayed this weak.

That's why he put 2 stat points into VIT to beef up his defense.

Hill got up and walked off while Clint was about to leave himself.

Until he ran into Nick Fury himself. He froze as Fury looked him over seemingly assessing Clint. After a few moments he nodded.

"Good work Barton."

And with that he walked out the door.

_Oh my god, did Nick Fury just compliment him!?_

Coulson walked up to Clint.

"You did good. But you need to work on that defense." he said.

Clint internally groaned, even the _spectators_ could see how he got lucky with his win?

"We can work on that after studying tomorrow." Coulson said, before walking out himself.

Most of the gym cleared out and Clint was just about to leave when he noticed a book on the ground.

Clint frowned and picked it up.

**New Skill Book!**

**Rage-**

**When activated, user will go into a rage that increases STR, VIT and DEX by 10 points.**

**Time Duration: 15 seconds.**

**Cost 25 Energy to use.**

**Would you like to learn this skill?**

**YES/NO**

Clint immediately hit YES.

**Ping!**

**Skill Created!**

**Rage-LVL 1 (0%)**

**When activated, user will go into a rage that increases STR, VIT and DEX by 10 points.**

**Time Duration: 15 seconds.**

**Cost 25 Energy to use.**

Clint grinned. This would help him out in fights a lot, especially if he upgraded it.

He looked around, made sure no one was watching before activating it.

"Rage." he whispered.

**Energy- 125/150**

Immediately, Clint felt stronger, faster and just overall _better_.

He noticed he felt angry, and his vision was tinted with red.

Clint walked up to a punching bad and started pummeling it. Clint never felt better in his life.

After a few more seconds, it wore off.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Rage-LVL 2(50%)**

**When activated, user will go into a rage that increases STR, VIT and DEX by 10 points.**

**Time Duration: 16 seconds.**

**Cost 25 Energy to use.**

Clint walked towards the cafeteria for lunch, whistling.

He grabbed a salad and sat down/

As he took a bite, he heard a familiar ping.

**Ping!**

**Energy Replenished!**

**Energy-130/150**

Clint smiled at that, if he just carried food around, a quick bite would restore health and energy.

But how would he be able to carry it around? Was there a way to do it without looking suspicious?

Clint racked his brain, trying to figure out a system before realization hit him like a freight train.

In a bunch of those RPG games, there was always a space for the character to put in extra stuff.

"Backpack." Clint tried.

Nothing.

"Storage." he said.

Nada.

"Inventory." he said.

Suddenly, a new purple box popped in front of him.

**Ping!**

**For finding out about your inventory, you have been awarded 1 Int point.**

**INT-4**

Clint grabbed his salad and was surprised when it was sucked into the box.

His inventory now read:

**1 salad**

Clint went back up for "seconds" and grabbed multiple slices of pizza, cans of soda and a cup of noodles.

He deposited everything into his inventory and waited a few minutes.

He then took a slice of pizza back out and was surprised when it was still hot.

_Looks like time doesn't pass for the items I put into my inventory._

Clint was about to go and get more when he saw Coulson walking towards him.

He sat down and slid a folder that had big, red letters stamped on it which read, CLASSIFIED.

Clint frowned.

"What's this?" he questioned.

Coulson didn't respond, but slid an I.D. card towards Clint.

**Agent Clint Barton**

**Clearance** **Level: 3**

**Codename:**

"I thought I wasn't ready?" Clint asked.

"You weren't." Coulson replied.

"But the WSC put out a hit on an arms dealer stationed here in New York. They want him dealt with immediately. You're the man for the job."

"I'm already Level 3?"

"Minimum for a field agent." Coulson said.

"You need to choose a codename." he added.

Clint slouched in his seat, thinking.

"How do you feel about Hawkeye?" he said to Coulson.

Coulson frowned.

"Are you sure?"

Clint nodded.

"It's the only thing I liked about being an assassin."

Coulson stood up. He had a small smile on his face and Clint felt a burst of emotion knowing that Coulson was proud of him. He was the closest thing Clint had to a father in his life.

"Welcome to the big leagues, Hawkeye."


	4. Chapter 4

**January 22nd 2006**

**You slept in a bed, your HP and MP have been restored to maximum capacity. All negative effects have been cured.**

Clint yawned, he only got a few hours of sleep due to the giddiness of his promotion. He was supposed to meet Coulson in Conference Room A for the details of his mission.

As he got ready, Clint decided that he would start grinding this week, to get better stats for this mission and for his next sparring session with Hill.

When he walked in, he was surprised to find that Coulson wasn't alone. Sitting with him was Nick Fury himself.

Clint frowned. Sure it was his first mission, but it was a simple distance assassination. Nothing Clint hasn't done hundreds of times before.

As if sensing his question, Fury spoke.

"Barton, this isn't your run of the mill hit. The target has extremely sensitive information that he plans on selling for millions of dollars."

Fury opened the file.

"James Barrett is a world-renowned thief. A few days ago, he snuck into one of our facilities and downloaded files from our database."

"No one stopped him?" Clint questioned.

"That's what makes Barnett so good. He mastered the ability to blend in anywhere or become anyone. No one noticed anything until it was too late." Fury replied.

"We don't know where he is now, but we know he will be at his client's daughter's wedding in exactly one week. Normally, we would have you go in up close, but you stick out as a teenager."

"What makes the misson so difficult?" Clint asked.

"We don't know what he looks like." Fury said.

Clint wanted to yell and be upset, but Gamer's Mind squashed the thought instantly.

Clint thought about it more and he could just find Barrett using his Gamer powers.

"That's okay, just gives me an extra challenge," he replied.

Inwardly, he smirked as he saw Fury blink and exchange looks with Coulson. Clint guessed they weren't surprised that often.

Fury slid over the file for Clint to inspect.

Clint looked over the photos. He looked over possible vantage points over the hotel venue and found a good one about 1500 meters away, give or take.

Clint swallowed, nervous. It wasn't the shot, Clint could shoot a target from 4000 meters away, probably even a lot farther if he tried. No, the hard part would be infiltrating the 50 floor hotel and stealing the hard drive without anyone noticing the body or that he was missing. Also as Fury mentioned earlier, as a teenager he sticks out.

Gamer's Mind forced the nervousness out and Clint was now filled with determination.

_I can do this._

**Quest Alert!**

**Eliminate James Barnett and retrieve the hard drive.**

**Rewards- 100 XP and ?**

**Failure- Possible Death, Loss of Rep with Coulson, Fury and WSC**

Clint frowned. He had never seen a question mark before. All the more reason to complete the mission.

After the briefing, Clint hit the gym.

"Stats." Clint said wanting to see what he should work on.

**Clinton Barton**

**Level 5 XP- 20/70**

**Health- 150/150**

**Energy- 150/150**

**The Gamer**

**Title- Catch me if you can**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT- 6**

**DEX- 12(+10) 22**

**INT- 5**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 0**

**MONEY: $0**

Clint decided to work on his strength. He was no slouch at hand to hand combat but he could elavate his skills a lot if his hits had more strength.

Clint wanted to get better- no he _needed_ to get better.

**Quest Alert!**

**Get your STR to at least 10**

**Rewards- 50 XP**

**Failure-**

**What is there to lose in this situation?**

He went over to the weights and started lifting.

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

Clint ignored all of it, determined. After a while, his arms started shaking and burning.

Clint finished his last set and looked up, grinning.

**Due to lifting weights extensively you have gained 5 STR points.**

**STR 6 - 11**

**Quest Completed!**

**Get your STR to at least 10**

**Rewards- 50 XP**

**Ping!**

**You leveled up!**

**LVL 5 - 6**

**XP- 0/75**

**Stat point gained.**

**Health and Energy increase.**

**160/160**

Clint groaned as he got up. All though the training paid off, his arms were dead tired.

Clint looked at his physical stats. They were decent enough now so Clint decided to go to the SHIELD library to increase his Int.

He wandered around looking for a book when he got an idea. Quickly, he rushed to find it and picked it up.

_Engineering for Dummies_

If INT meant he got smarter and reading engineering books meant he would get smarter in that field, he could make some badass trick arrows!

Clint grinned at the thought of enemies believing the arrow he shot was normal only to have it explode. He began reading the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short filler chapter, but the next one is going to make up for it I promise! Clint runs into complications on his first mission and encounters a surprise Marvel villain that I don't think anyone could guess. And pretty soon, Clint's trick arrows will be created. Thanks for reading and I appreciate and try to respond to all reviews.


	6. Chapter 5

**January 23rd 2006**

**You slept in a bed, your HP and MP have been restored to maximum capacity. All negative effects have been cured.**

Clint groaned as he got up. He was up late last night reading the Engineering book.

"Stats." he called out, seeing how much Int he gained.

**Clinton Barton**

**Level 6 XP- 0/75**

**Health- 160/160**

**Energy- 160/160**

**The Gamer**

**Title- Catch me if you can**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 11**

**VIT- 6**

**DEX- 12(+10) 22**

**INT- 8**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 1**

**MONEY: $0**

Clint smiled as he saw he gained 3 Int points. He glanced at the clock. He still had several hours before he needed to prep for the mission.

After getting ready, Clint went to the gym and went to the punching bags right away.

"Rage." he whispered.

**Energy: 135/160**

Clint grinned at the feeling and started attacking the bag. After a few hits, the bag flew off and hit the ground several feet away from Clint.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Rage-LVL 3(13%)**

**When activated, user will go into a rage that increases STR, VIT and DEX by 10 points.**

**Time Duration: 17 seconds.**

**Cost 30 Energy to use.**

Clint panted, and put his hands behind his head to catch his breath. After a few seconds, he started jogging on the state of the art track.

Clint was in the middle of his 7th mile when Coulson walked in.

**Ping!**

**Due to running extensively you have gained 3 DEX points.**

Clint walked over to Coulson as the man stood in the sparring ring.

"Let's go a few rounds in the ring." he said.

"You want to fight on the day of the mission?" Clint asked.

"Not exactly." the older agent said.

"The goal of this will for you to avoid getting hit by me without you hitting back."

Clint opened his mouth to protest by Coulson shut him down.

"As good as your combat skills are, you need to learn how to be patient and go on the defensive and your defense is definitely not on par with your hand-to-hand skills."

Clint grumbled. He knew Phil was right but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Without warning, Phil lunged fowards and Clint scrambled back.

This went on for a few minutes before Phil tagged Clint on his cheek and he went down.

Phil helped Clint up.

"I know your fast Clint, but the purpose of this is to help your defense and I can't do that if you just evade all my blows."

Clint nodded in understanding and Phil was back on him, a punch aimed at his face.

Clint swiped away the first one before blocking the second attack. Clint felt proud until Phil swept him and his ass hit the ground. As he recovered, Phil grabbed his arm and slammed his face against the mat. Clint's face burned with embarrassment as other agents in the gym snickered.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Physical Endurance- LVL 9 (34%)**

**Your body's durability. Increases when leveled up.**

**9% less damage from physical attacks.**

**Ping!**

**Due to working on your frankly embarrassing defensive skills you have gained 2 points in VIT.**

_Did the game just make fun of him?_

Clint got up and glowered at Phil. Phil sighed at his face.

"Clint, I know it seems like I'm trying to embarrass you but I'm trying to help you. One day you'll thank me." he said.

Clint sighed as he tried to dispel the anger from his body.

"I know." Clint said.

"Let's go again."

**Ping!**

**Due to working on your defensive skills you have gained 1 points in VIT.**

Clint walked away from the gym feeling like shit. He groaned as he sat down in the cafeteria. All this pain was worth it he supposed. He gained 3 points in VIT and his defense wasn't as flimsy as a wet piece of paper anymore.

Clint stored extra food into his inventory for the mission. Clint looked at his watch. His mission prep was in a few minutes. Clint swallowed the rest of his food quickly and walked briskly to Conference Room B.

Clint walked in and immediately he backed away shaking his head.

Hill and Coulson just smirked at him.

"I am not wearing that disguise!" Clint exclaimed in horror.

_4 hours later..._

Clint groaned and grumbled as he fidgeted on the rooftop he was planted on.

Clint imagined what the sight looked like to a by stander. A teenage boy dressed in a stuffy, servant outfit holding a bow.

"Did I ever mention I hate you Coulson?"

_"Several times."_ his response came over the comms.

Clint felt like jumping off the building he was perched on. For the life of him, his Observe could not find James Barnett.

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Observe LVL 3 (45%)**

**By Observing a target you will receive info on said target**

**Includes- Max Energy and HP, Stats and info.**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

**Ping!**

Clint figured it could be worse though, his observe was leveling up like crazy.

Barnett was a master of espionage for a thief. He could be the center of attention one day and the next be an unnoticed nobody.

Thinking logically, Barnett would want to remain low-key for his dealings, especially at a wedding.

Clint's eyes scanned over the people drinking and dancing on the balcony. He immediately crossed out any woman and young and old men. Barnett estimatd age had been from 32-40 and that narrowed things down a bit.

_There._

There was a man at the bar that was talking to the father of the bride. They were tucked away in the corner and seemed to be having a serious conversation. Clint used observe on the man.

**James Barnett, Thief**

**Level 23**

**Health- 300/300**

**Energy- 300/300**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 6**

**VIT-5**

**DEX-8**

**INT-15**

**LUCK-15**

**WIS- 19**

**James Barnett is a world class thief known as Everyman. His high intelligence allow him to make expert plans on heists. He is a master at blending in and disguising himself and has never been caught or even identified. He is prideful and arrogant and is currently happy that the flash drive filled with SHIELD intel will sell for millions.**

"This is Hawkeye, I've identified the target."

" _Are you positive?"_

_"_ 100 percent, Coulson."

" _Wait until he is alone and then take the shot."_ Coulson advised.

Barnett got up and said something to the buyer before walking into the hotel.

Clint cursed.

"I've lost visual of the target, changing vantage point."

Clint grabbed his bow and quiver before jumping down to a slightly lower building with a view of the rooms. Barnett wasn't in any.

Clint jumped up to a higher building into a hand stand before flipping backwards into a crouch.

"I've found the target, preparing to fire."

Clint slowly breathed out then exhaled. He shot the arrow and Barnett dropped to the floor, dead.

"This is Hawkeye, target is down, moving in to retrieve the hard drive."

_"Get in there quick, and don't let anyone question why a teenager is working as a servant."_

Clint quickly scaled the building downwards before jumping onto the hotel's fire escape and made his way into the hallway where he shot Barnett.

He searched Barnett for the flash drive. It wasn't there.

Clint looked around panicked before a man burst out of the next door room and hit Clint with an impossibly fast kick to the gut.

**Damage taken!**

**Health- 149/160**

Clint flew back a few feet as the figure jumped out the Hotel window.

Recovering,Clint gave chase as he talked into his comm.

"Coulson, someone else snatched the flash drive!"

" _Was it a civilian?"_

"No, whoever took it was highly trained. I'm giving chase now."

Clint jumped from the window and rolled into a somersault. He looked ahead and saw the man at least 20 to 30 feet ahead of him.

_The hell? That guy's faster than me and that's saying something._

Clint sprinted after the man. It was clear he was faster than him so he needed to do something to catch him.

Clint broke off sharply, turning the corner of a street before jumping onto a moving garbage truck.

_There._

The truck drove right in front of the man and Clint hopped off before shoving the man into an alley.

The man recovered and if possible, ran even _faster_.

Clint wasn't worried though. There was a wall right in front of the man and he would be forced to fight Clint pretty soon. But what occurred soon after was something Clint would've been in awe of had he not been on the recieving end of it.

The man jumped up and started _running_ up the wall. Clint gaped, he could only do that for a few seconds, tops. When he was halfway up, the man kicked off before sailing towards Clint.

Clint hit the ground as 2 feet hit his chest at high speeds.

**Damage Taken!**

**141/160**

Clint could barely react as a fist smashed Clint's face in. He stumbled back before leaping over a spinning kick but the man blitzed towards him and grabbed his legs before throwing him on the ground.

**Damage Taken!**

**132/160**

Clint got up just in time to block the barrage of high speed fists. He mentally thanked Coulson as he knew his defense from a day earlier would be shredded by the second punch.

Clint stopped blocking and tried sweeping the man's legs but he effortlessly backflipped over Clint before using his shoulders as a spring board to go higher. Clint managed to get out of the way before he was hit by the man moving 40 miles per hour.

_Who the hell is this guy?_

Clint was one of the best, if not the best acrobat at SHIELD. But this guy was on a whole new level. His speed was beyond Clint's and that itself was impressive but he was also a highly trained fighter.

Clint cartwheeled backwards to create space in order to observe him.

He froze as he read the name.

"Coulson?"

" _Clint! Are you okay!?"_

Ignoring the question he spoke.

"We have a major problem."

**Georges Batroc, The Leaper**

**Level 56**

**Health- 450/450**

**Energy- 439/450**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 10**

**VIT- 5**

**DEX- 56**

**INT- 8**

**LUCK-10**

**WIS-14**


	7. Chapter 7

**January 23rd 2006**

"The man who took the flash drive, it's The Leaper."

If you were a half decent assassin at any point in the last 10 years, you knew who Batroc the Leaper was. A french mercenary and pirate, a master of savate and kick boxing. His acrobatics though, surpassed even _enhanced_.

" _Get out of there, Clint!"_ Coulson abandoning his codename in favor of worrying.

Clint contemplated the idea. This was the first chance he had got to do something right, to clear out his ledger. He was not going to go back to SHIELD having failed his mission. And the XP he would get for getting the flash drive? He definitely wasn't leaving.

"No." Clint said firmly.

" _What are you doing! Run! He'll ki-."_

Clint shut off the comms right before his head snapped back from the force of a kick.

**Damage taken!**

**127/160**

Clint had enough of being hit. He whipped out a throwing knife and threw it in the matter of a second. It hit Batroc's shoulder, causing his French counterpart to cry out.

**Quest Alert!**

**Incapacitate the Leaper!**

**Rewards- 100 XP**

**Failure- Death**

**YES/NO**

Clint groaned as he accepted. Killing Batroc would be a lot easier than knocking him unconscious.

Clint ducked under a kick, before tackling the Frenchman.

His one advantage was his higher STR and he was definitely going to use it against him.

The two assassins grappled on the floor before Clint slammed him into the wall. Batroc retaliated by throwing Clint into the dumpster nearby.

**Damage taken!**

**121/160**

Clint rolled away just in time as Batroc slammed his leg into the ground, right where Clint's head was moments before. Clint cartwheeled away before backflipping in the air as he fired 2 arrows into Batroc's shoulders.

Pinned to the wall, Batroc roared in pain. He pulled the two arrows out before double frontflipping towards Clint. Right as he was about to strike, Clint flipped his second throwing knife into his hand and aimed it at Batroc.

He cursed as he stumbled back before throwing it back at Clint. He managed to duck but the knife still skimmed his cheek, leaving a large gash.

**Damage taken!**

**116/160**

Batroc sneered at Clint.

"Et ici, je pensais que le célèbre Hawkeye était plus que des couteaux et des flèches ." (And here I thought the famous Hawkeye was more than knives and arrows.)

Clint growled in response before turning his bow into a staff and swinging at Batroc.

He dodged and weaved over and under Clint's attacks before forcing the bow out of his hands. In a single moment, Batroc started ramming his fists into Clint's stomach. He shoved him off before throwing a punch that Batroc already anticipated, ducking under it.

In a flash, he was at Clint's exposed back landing hits. Clint swung his leg around only to find that Batroc was gone. He looked up just in time for a fist to connect to his face.

Another fist hit his stomach. His head again. His stomach. Finally, Batroc hit Clint's kneecap with ferocity.

Clint screamed in pain as felt it shatter and he fell to the ground in a broken heap.

**Damage taken!**

**76/160**

Thinking Clint was dead, the Leaper stood there for a few moments before running the other way, out of the alley.

However, Clint managed to crawl over to his bow and despite his vision being blurry and Clint seeing stars he nocked 2 arrows and shot. Like always, his aim remained true.

Clint braced himself using pipes running across the walls before dragging his one useless leg over to Batroc. The man was not down yet as he took Clint into a hold and squeezed, despite being heavily injured himself.

He choked and gasped as his vision started darkening. With one final burst of determination, fear and adrenaline he grabbed 2 more arrows before slamming them hard enough to tear through his shoulder blades.

Both assassins howled in pain as they both hit the ground. Clint barely recognized a SHIELD helicopter flying above, shining bright lights on both of them.

_Coulson._ he though hazily. _Musta sent an extraction team_.

Speaking of which, the man burst towards Clint seemingly out of nowhere.

"Sorry for disobeying orders, sir." he managed to slur before the darkness took him and he closed his eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_16 hours later..._

A bright, white room was the first thing Clint saw when he came back to the land of the living. He tried sitting up but immediately moaned in pain.

"Never doing that again." Clint grumbled under his breath.

"You're goddamn right. Pull a stunt like that again, and this time it'll be me who shatters your kneecap." Coulson said.

Despite his harsh words, Clint could see the relief on his handler's face. He turned to identify the 2 other faces in the room.

Clint was shocked. Seeing Maria Hill there wasn't surprising. She was one of the only people he considered a friend and he knew the feeling was the same on her end.

But Nick motherfuckin' Fury was waiting by his bedside.

"Thanks to you, we captured Batroc. He was number 11 on our most wanted list." Fury said.

That reminded Clint. His quests!

**Quest Completed!**

**Eliminate James Barnett and retrieve the hard drive.**

**Rewards- 100 XP and Bottle of DEX**

**Quest Completed!**

**Incapacitate the Leaper!**

**Rewards- 100 XP**

**Level up!**

**6 - 8**

**Health and Energy increase!**

**180/180**

**You now gain 2 stat points every time you level up.**

**4 stat points gained.**

**Stat Points- 5**

Clint observed the strange potion he had received. He guessed this was the question mark reward. He used observe on it.

**Bottle of DEX**

**What it says. Gives user 30 points of DEX.**

**Gained by defeating the world's best acrobat.**

_The fuck?!_

Clint's eyes bulged at reading that. This along with his title would make him pretty much as fast as Batroc. Suddenly, realization struck Clint. He was barely 16. His potential was through the roof. There was no limit to how powerful he could become.

"You okay, Clint? You spaced out." Hill said, worried.

_Crap._

Clint expertly changed the subject.

"Why, is the no-nonsense Maria Hill worried?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes in response.

"Just afraid I would need to find another sparring partner." she said.

They chatted for a few moments before everyone filed out letting him rest. After making sure they were gone, Clint grabbed the bottle and downed it's contents and he immediately felt more powerful. Like nothing could stop him. He closes his eyes and just imagined activating Rage with his DEX.

Clint groaned when he realized he would need to wait to test that out. His left kneecap was shattered.

_All in all, a pretty successful mission._


	8. Chapter 8

**February 6th 2006**

Clint swung his feet in anticipation. He'd been stuck in SHIELD medical for 2 weeks, being treated for his wounds after his fight with The Leaper.

He'd been bored doing nothing all day for the past couple weeks and he was more than ready to leave.

"Alright, Barton you're free to go. Your not cleared for active duty yet, so check back in a week." the doctor said.

Clint was out the door right as he finished his sentence. He noticed he was receiving more stares than usual as he walked down the halls.

He walked towards the cafeteria and after grabbing food and slid down next to Hill. He frowned when he noticed whispers directed towards him.

"What's with the stares/whispering?" he asked Hill who just laughed.

"You took down Batroc on your very first mission. They're in awe. I heard the instructor for brand new recruits cited you as an example they should follow."

Clint choked. "You're telling me I went from being the teenage baby who shouldn't be here to SHIELD's golden boy after 1 fight?" he asked.

Hill's expression turned somber and she looked around before whispering to him.

"Batroc has killed 17 SHIELD Agents. When he first appeared on our radar, we sent STRIKE Team Gamma after him. They're decent, one of the better teams and Batroc slaughtered 4 of the 7 of them. There comms were still salvageable after we found the bodies. He took his time killing them. He tortured them for hours before snapping their necks." she said in a low voice.

"The rest of the team was sent into a raged frenzy. They had to be contained for a 3 days before they calmed down."

Clint's good mood instantly turned sour and his hate for The Leaper grew even bigger.

"The same kept happening so Fury decided to keep his distance for a while. You took him down and now you're the hero of SHIELD, according to some."

"I'm no hero." Clint muttered looking down. There was so much innocent blood on his hands. He'd thought there wasn't another choice when he became a contract assassin. He could still see the look of shock on his target's faces before they ended up with an arrow lodged in their heart.

Hill looked at him.

"I know you have a dark past. You did things you're not proud of. But that happened to pretty much everyone here. What's important now is how you're making up for their deaths by saving innocent lives. And for what it's worth Clint, I believe you're a hero."

Hill patted him on the back and left the cafeteria.

Clint followed soon after dumping his food in the trash before heading into the SHIELD gym. He couldn't do anything strenuous so Clint decided to swim laps.

During the 2 weeks in medical, Clint wrestled with the idea to take the Potion of DEX he earned. While it would make him better, faster, stronger, he realized it would be smarter to save it for when it was harder to upgrade his DEX.

Clint got in the pool and swam. He figured he'd pump out a couple hundred laps to make up for him not being able to run or lift. During his 78th, he noticed people, 2 men and 1 woman to be exact, standing right next to his discarded clothes.

They were waiting for him to finish, so Clint decided to take a quick break so they wouldn't be waiting too long. He swam to a ledge by them and hopped up.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

One of the men stepped forward.

"I'm Agent Dolan, this is Agent Andrews and Agent Jackson." he said to Clint. Clint scanned them. Both men were black haired but Dolan had green eyes while Jackson had brown eyes. Agent Andrew was a pretty blonde with blue eyes. By his estimate they were in their mid twenties.

"Clint Barton." he said offering his hand.

"Pretty sure everyone knows who you are Hawkeye." Agent Jackson replied as he shook Clint's hand. Dolan did the same.

When Clint offered his hand to Agent Andrews, the pretty blonde woman rushed fowards and instead hugged him.

Clint stiffened off guard. He just met this woman, why was she hugging him? Sensing his discomfort, she backed up.

"Sorry." she said, embarrassed.

"You don't know it but we owe you a lot." she said.

"For what?" Clint questioned.

"For catching Batroc." Dolan said.

Clint recalled what Hill told him. 3 people she mentioned, had to be locked up due to their hate of Batroc.

"You're STRIKE Team Gamma." Clint said in realization.

They nodded.

"I'm assuming you know why we hate Batroc." Dolan said.

Clint nodded.

"He killed your friends."

"It was more than that. STRIKE Teams are like families. And Jake, one of the agents who was killed was engaged to me." said Agent Andrew.

"I was pregnant."

Clint wished he hit Batroc so much harder.

"It's a little late, but sorry for your loss." Clint said looking a the 3 agents.

"Thank you." Agent Dolan said.

"So we came here to say, if you need anything, anytime, any day we'll be there. No matter how big or small." he said.

Clint blinked. Normally, he would protest and say they didn't need to do that, but these were high-ranking and respected SHIELD agents. Favors from them could come in handy.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that." he replied.

* * *

Clint dried and toweled off as he walked out of the SHIELD locker room.

**Ping!**

**Due to extensive swimming, you've gained 2 points of DEX.**

**Ping!**

**Skill Created!**

**Swimming-LVL 15 (0%)**

**Swim Speed- 5 mph**

Clint smiled. His decision to save the potion of DEX was paying off.

The intercom suddenly blared.

"Agent Barton, please report to Director Fury, I repeat Agent Barton, please report to Director Fury."

Clint frowned. He hadn't done anything (recently!) to be sent to Fury. It couldn't be a mission, he wasn't cleared for active duty yet.

He walked into the office and was surprised to see a woman next to Fury.

"Barton, I want you to meet someone. This is Peggy Carter, one of the founders of SHIELD and one of the finest spies the world has ever known."

Clint openly gaped. Peggy Carter was something of a legend at SHIELD. Her missions were well documented and she was the epitome of badass in her prime. But what Clint really admired her for was her marksmanship. A few days after he joined SHIELD, Coulson offhandedly mentioned that his skill was "greater than even Peggy Carter's" and at the time, Clint didn't recognize the significance of the compliment until he learned about SHIELD's history.

"It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. Carter. I'm a huge fan."

The elderly woman smiled at him.

"I've heard great things about you Agent Barton."

Her accent had a slight tinge of British. She had grey hair mixed in with some black strands. Clint guessed she was an attractive woman a few decades back.

"Barton, I've called Agent Carter in for a very specific reason." Fury said.

"And what's that?"

"You're 16 years old Barton. You're already the best shot in the world and your spy skills aren't too shabby either. I called her in because I see potential in you. The fight with Batroc just solidified my belief in the fact that you'll be one of the best damn agents SHIELD has ever seen. You will be trained exclusively under Agent Carter to improve your skills."

"Thank you, sir." Clint said.

Fury scowled, only betrayed by the fondness in his eyes.

"Just don't let it get to your head." he said, effectively dismissing him.

Clint walked out of Fury's office.

He took a few steps before stopping and chuckling in disbelief.

_I just met Peggy Carter and Fury gave me the probably biggest compliment he'd ever given anyone._

"Something on your mind?"

Clint stiffened and turned around.

There stood Peggy Carter.

Clint didn't know that if he should be disappointed with his detection skills or that it was a testament to her skills that she was able to sneak up on him.

"Follow me."

She walked away in long strides forcing Clint to jog to keep up.

"Uh, where are we going?" he asked.

She stopped and turned around to look at him.

"What Nicholas said. To train."

Clint stumbled after her, in shock.

"2 things. We're starting today? Like right now today? And second, _Nicholas?"_

She looked back at him and smirked.

"I bring someone into SHIELD, and I can call them whatever the hell I want.

_She really is a badass._

"You brought Fury into SHIELD?!"

She waved it off dismissively.

"A story for another time."

Clint frowned when they realized they were headed the opposite direction of the rave and gym.

"Where are we going?" he asked

"Before we train, we need to get you the proper equipment."

Clint realized they were headed toward SHIELD's R&D facility. Clint frowned. If she tried to replace his bow, he'd get upset.

As if reading his mind, she called him down.

"We're just getting you some new trick arrows."

Clint smiled at that. He was planning on making explosive arrows in the future but he was sure R&D wouldn't approve but it wouldn't hurt to have other trick arrows in his arsenal.

As they walked in, they were greeted by an older man and woman who looked excited.

"Agent Barton and Carter it's an honor to meet you! My name is Brandon and this is my wife, Abigail."

He looked at Clint.

"We have something I think you might be interested in."

Clint followed Brandon towards the main lab.

"Exhibit A! A cable arrow. It can be used to swing, zip line or as a tightrope. It can hold up to 500 pounds before breaking. I reckon this would've come in handy against Batroc.

Clint studies the arrow. It looked the exact same as his regular ones except the tip was different.

"But that's not all!" Abigail exclaimed.

"Here." she handed him a new, sleeker quiver and another arrow.

"This second arrow is an electrical arrow. Capable of discharging 70,000 volts, hitting you're target will render them unconscious. If you hit the ground around a group it can knock out up to 4 grown men. It will take a few more on an enhanced individual but it will have the same effect."

Brandon and Abigail took hold of a quiver and looked at him excitedly.

"Now for the main attraction! A brand new, state of the art quiver. It holds 50 arrows, 25 more than your current one."

Brandon turned the quiver upside down to reveal a small pocket sealed off underneath the arrows.

"Press this button here, and your arrows are interchangeable. Want to replace a cable arrow with a regular one? Just hit the button and the arrowhead will be replaced by a new one. It works for any of the arrows in your quiver." he said.

Brandon took a needle and gave Clint a shot.

"What the hell?"

Peggy laughed.

"You've been shot, stabbed and beat up but you whine because of a shot?"

I implanted you with something called a subcutaneous chip.

You can call back any of the arrows you've shot in a 20 mile radius.

"So I make gestures with my hands and arrows come flying at me? That doesn't sound safe."

"They stop at a safe distance of 5-15 feet away from you." she answered.

"Can I take these now?" he asked.

"Yes, yes! If you find any flaws, feel free to contact us so we can correct it." 

Clint took the arrows and the quiver and practically sprinted towards the range, Peggy trailing behind him.

She directed him towards the parkour course.

Clint grinned when he saw his record on the course still stood. 

"On one of my missions back in the day, I used a grappling gun while extracting someone. Try your cable arrow first." 

"What, no instructions?" Clint asked.

She smirked at him.

"Always fun to see newbies fall flat on their faces, literally."

Clint laughed and unslung his bow from his shoulder.

He grabbed a cable arrow and nocked it. He spotted a metal bar that he wanted to swing on and shot. 

Instead of a grappling cable being shot out, the arrow sparked, and electricity flowed across the metal bar.

_Oh shit._

The electricity traveled, using the metal as a conductor. Clint spotted on of the new recruits doing the monkey bars on the course. The recruit convulsed and shook while on the bar before collapsing with the hair on her arms singed.

Clint winced.

Peggy and him stared at the fallen recruit for a moment before she spoke.

"That was an electrical arrow wasn't it?"

"Yup."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, I don't have an excuse except that I forgot on Tuesday and Wednesday. Feel free to point out any grammar mistakes and I will correct them. And as always, reviews are appreciated. And yes, Peggy didn't really bring Fury into SHIELD, I just wanted to add that little detail.**  


	9. Chapter 9

**February 10th 2006**

* * *

**Ping!**

**Skill Progressed!**

**Physical Endurance- LVL 8 (19%)**

**Your body's durability. Increases when leveled up.**

**8% less damage from physical attacks.**

Clint groaned into the mat, wallowing in embarrassment before he got up to the sight of Peggy Carter laughing.

"You jumped too late and lost momentum. Right when you shoot that cable arrow, you need to act." she coached.

"Enemies won't give you that kind of time. You need to be prepared. 

"Now again!"

He groaned again.

* * *

Clint walked out of the gym, tired and sweaty. He hit the showers and washed down. He wrapped a towel around his waist and moved to put his clothes on. He walked towards the mirror when he saw Fury out of the reflection of the mirror before he walked further down the hallway.

Clint frowned. He knew the director had his own private gym so he could only be down here to brief for a mission. He wasn't cleared for active duty, but Clint was confident he could convince Coulson to let him on the mission. He looked at his clothes and back at the door.

_I am so going to regret this._

* * *

Clint didn't want to even know how this situation looked. A 16 year old, with more muscles and scars than normal teenager should have, was tailing a man with one eye and a long black trench coat in nothing but a white towel.

Fury took a sharp turn into Conference Room D. Clint eyes widened. Conference Room D was only used for extremely classified missions.. It was only used twice since the helicarrier was formed. Clint waited a few moments before moving towards the door. He contemplated walking in, before he saw a vent.

Clint grinned and hoisted himself up into the vents. He crawled around for a bit before he reached the vents above Conference Room D.

"-can't do this! He is not cleared for field work! He's still injured!" Clint couldn't make out who was talking but it sounded Peggy.

"I don't care! He's our best operator right now!"

"Send her in! We can afford to lose her, but not him." Coulson said, cutting in.

"You know she's unstable and psychotic. And besides, this is a job for a sniper, not someone who can walk through walls."

"All three of us know he's the only one capable of doing this. If Ant-Man was still here we could, but he retired years ago."

Clint barely held in a laugh.

_2 things. First, Antman? What the hell kind of codename is that? I mean I'm Hawkeye due to my eyesight and marksmanship skills but what skills does the name Antman warrant? And second, walk through walls? What is this, a comic book?_

_"_ Besides," Fury continued. "If you two are so overprotective of him, you should know he's in the vents listening to our conversation."

_How the hell?!_

"Nick! You let us say all this classified information knowing he was here?"

Fury snorted.

"He's going to learn about this in a few minutes anyway."

Clint groaned, knowing that he was caught.

He dropped down from the vent.

Peggy took one look and immediately turned away, Coulson groaned and rubbed his eyes and Fury facepalmed.

"Barton, why the fuck are you naked?!"

Clint frowned and looked down before looking back up to see his towel was caught in the vent.

A silence descended upon the room.

"Well this is awkward."

The three adults groaned and headed towards the windows, to pull down the blinds.

"And who in the right mind chooses their codename as Antman?"

* * *

"So you're saying, superpowers exists."

Peggy and Coulson rolled their eyes although fondness was evident in their expressions.

"Barton! For the last time, the term is enhanced!"

"You mean superpowers?"

"GODDAMMIT!" Fury actually moaned.  _Fury._

Finally, Peggy and Coulson took pity on Fury.

"Are you familiar with Captain America?"

Clint laughed.

"Who isn't?"

"But I mean, those were just tall tales. Steve Rogers was real, and he was a hero, but he wasn't enhanced. There's no way he was some skinny kid before."

Peggy smiled.

"Believe it. He was the first enhanced due to a supersolider serum that many have tried to copy later."

"He was a real hero." Coulson said, admiration evident in his voice.

Clint blinked.

_Coulson was a Captain American fanboy?_

_"_ Why are you telling me this now?" Clint inquired, getting back on topic.

"Because, it's for your next mission. Fury replied.

"Who's the target?"

"Depends on who shows up to collect the 20 million dollar bounty on his head."

Clint whistled.

"What'd he do to have that much heat crashing down on him?"

"The target's name is Anthony Brown. Ripped off A.I.M. for 3 million dollars, new prototype weapons, blueprints and codes. According to my inside sources, he'll be in Budapest, attending a party to meet with potential buyers."

"This is a perfect opportunity for us. We capture or kill any assassins going after Brown and we can get the information he has as well. The problem is Barton, you're going to be one of many assassins out there. There's rumblings major players are going to be present."

"Like who?"

Fury sighed.

"Like Taskmaster."

Coulson and Peggy glanced at each other.

"Nick, are you sure? Clint is still recovering and even at full strength I doubt he could beat him."

Clint looked at Fury.

"How the hell am I supposed to be beat Taskmaster!?"

"You know who he is?"

Clint snorted.

"Give me some credit. Any half-decent assassin knows who he is. Granted, I thought his abilities were just exaggerated until now."

"You don't have to beat him. Just contain him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We have a prison ready to hold him. We'd prefer you neutralize him but killing him is near impossible. But remember, that's just in case. There are several other assassins there so you might not even see him. Do not make unnecessary contact with him, get the information and get out."

Clint nodded.

"Suit up. You're taking off in 30."

"Right now? Like today now? Because I was looking forward to relaxing..." Clint trailed off when he saw the look Fury gave him.

"Okayyyy, I'll be ready in 30."

Clint walked out of the room before running back in.

"Wait, where's Budapest?"

Fury sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

* * *

Clint drummed his fingers in anticipation as the Quinjet landed just outside of Budapest.

He thanked the pilot grabbed his bag and made his way to the hotel. Clint had never been to Budapest but he was in luck as Hungarian was a language he was fluent in. Clint walked up to the lobby's front desk to get his room key.

As he checked in, Clint stopped in his tracks.

The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen was making her way towards the stairs.

Clint moved closer and saw his observation wasn't exactly true. While she dressed like a woman and carried herself like one, Clint could tell she was the same age as him, maybe a year younger. She had fiery red hair and emerald green eyes and Clint guessed he needed to re-evaluate his type because he sworn he had a thing for blondes.

The redhead caught his eye and winked at him and Clint's mouth suddenly was dry.

_Snap out of it!_

Clint shook his head, regaining his bearings. He was here for a mission, not to flirt with pretty girls.

Although something about her seemed familiar...

He archer shook the thought out of his head and walked up the stairs to his room.

Clint went into his room and after sweeping for bugs, he unzipped his bag and pulled out an earpiece.

"This is Hawkeye, checking in."

" _You're one minute and 57 seconds late Hawkeye."_ Phil's smooth voice rang out crystal clear.

"I got...distracted."

" _The party starts in a few hours, Hawkeye. You need to be 100% focused. I'll check in on you then."_

 _"_ Alright, talk to you later."

Clint took out a staff from the bag and pressed a button than uncollapsed it into a bow. He then took out his quiver, checked all his arrows before taking out a suit and tie for him to blend in. After getting dressed, Clint took out 2 throwing knives and concealed them on his pants. He then took out his custom gold Desert Eagle. (Hey, he was 13 when he got it and thought it looked badass.) and set it in his holster on his waist. If he was lucky, he wouldn't need to use it at all tonight.

Clint considered sleeping until the party until he remembered one time when he nearly overslept and almost botched killing a target.

He glanced at the clock. 2 hours until the party.

The assassin decided to get a headstart as he walked towards the venue where the party was being held. He glanced upwards spotting 4 viable buildings for him to observe and shoot from.

Clint was immediately drawn towards the tallest of the 4 that had an obstructed view of the venue. It was a perfect sniping position but he had to remember he wasn't the only long range assassin here for Brown.

_Yeah, but I'm the best one here._

Clint grabbed a cable arrow from his quiver and shot it towards the building, swinging up towards it.

* * *

_1 hour later..._

Clint was settled into his spot as he activated his earpiece. The party was starting in 53 minutes and Clint scanned the crowd for Brown before something, or rather someone caught his eye.

_Wait...Is that?_

Clint observed the figure.

**?, Bullseye**

**Level 15**

**Health- 175/175**

**Energy- 175/175**

**STR- 7**

**VIT- 5**

**DEX- 10**

**INT- 3**

**LUCK-1**

**WIS-3**

"Son of a bitch!"

" _What? Is it Taskmaster? Brown?"_

"It's fucking Bullseye! That second-rate copycat! I'll show him who the Greatest Marksman in the world is, and when I get my hands on him I'll shove my arrows so far up his a-

" _Barton!"_

"What? He used to try and steal my kills back when I was a contract assassin!"

Clint laughed when he saw Bullseye's stats.

"Stats" he said, to compare.

**Clinton Barton**

**Level 8 XP- 0/80**

**Health- 180/180**

**Energy- 180/180**

**The Gamer**

**Title- Catch me if you can**

**Race- Human**

**STR- 11**

**VIT- 6**

**DEX- 14(+10) 24**

**INT- 8**

**LUCK-0**

**WIS-2**

**STAT POINTS: 5**

**MONEY: $0**

Clint smiled when he saw most of his stats were superior to Bullseye's.

Bullseye suddenly veered towards Clint's building.

As much as he wanted to kill Bullseye and be done with it, the body would attract attention and he couldn't have that right before the party.

The assassin/spy's eyes narrowed as he nocked an arrow.

He aimed slightly in front of Bullseye and he fired.

Bullseye jumped, surprised before backing off.

They both knew that was the only warning shot Clint would give.

Clint went back to scanning the crowd for Brown before a limousine pulled up.

Brown walked out and 3 things happened at once.

First, a knife whistled by Brown's ear, missing him. Second, 2 bullets missed Brown as he ducked after the knives. Third, people screamed and ran in all sorts of directions and Clint lost sight of Brown.

"Shit!"

" _What happened?!"_

 _"_ Amateur assassins happened. I've lost visual on the target."

Clint grabbed a cable arrow and shot it, connecting it to a street lamp. Using his bow to zipline, Clint quickly made his way towards street level before jumping off and rolling onto the pavement.

He looked around and cheered as he saw a young girl wearing red stab Bullseye with a sai.

" _Hawkeye_ _, focus!"_

"Right."

Clint looked around searching for any sign of Brown. All of the sudden, a blue Jeep took off almost running over a little boy.

He quickly sprang into action as he unholstered his Desert Eagle and shot 2 times, popping the tires.

The Jeep swerved out of control and hit a lamppost.

Clint sprinted towards the Jeep as many other assassins trailed behind him.

The archer ignored the moaning and bleeding man, he wasn't hear to collect the bounty.

He grabbed the briefcase and as he peered out he saw he was surrounded

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Coulson, I'm surrounded."

_"Just hold on, an extraction team is on route."_

_"_ ETA?"

" _5 minutes."_

 _"_ I have an idea, Coulson. But you won't like it."

Coulson sighed.

" _Just don't get yourself killed."_

Clint crawled back to the front of the car.

"Let's go scumbag."

Clint grabbed Brown and dragged him out of the car."

Immediately all weapons were turned on him.

"No one fucking move, or i'll collect the bounty myself."

All assassins froze as Clint slowly backed away.

Suddenly he shoved Brown forwards before sprinting into an alley.

Multiple shots were fired and he was sure Brown was dead before he hit the ground.

"This is Hawkeye, what's the status on the extraction team?"

" _They're here Hawkeye._ "

Clint smiled when he saw the helicopter but it quickly vanished when he saw the bodies of SHIELD agents on the ground.

_Sword wounds?_

Suddenly a scream rang out and Clint ran to the backside of the helicopter.

There was a SHIELD agent, the pilot. A figure was standing over him wearing a hood.

Clint rushed forwards and threw the man several feet back. 

Clint gave the pilot the briefcase.

"Go, get the hell out of here!"

The pilot nodded, and quickly started up the chopper.

The man quickly unholstered a gun to shoot the chopper but Clint was faster, firing an arrow that hit the man's hand. 

Clint was on him again throwing a punch that should've connected with his face.

Key word should've. 

The hooded man caught Clint's fist.

Clint was in shock.

_That never happened to me before._

Clint broke the hold and executed a roundhouse kick that the man caught and he threw Clint against the wall.

**Damage Taken!**

**164/180**

Clint stumbled up just as the hooded man finally looked at him.

His blood froze.

_Taskmaster._

* * *

**There it is, Clint's first interaction with Natasha, although he doesn't know it yet. And now he's fighting Taskmaster. Next chapter will be the first Hawkeye/Black Widow team up. As always, I appreciate all comments and feedback.**


	10. About the Hiatus

First off, I'm sorry for not updating the story. I got on a Spider-Man high after re-watching Homecoming which inspired me to start writing Peter Parker centric fics on Archive of Our Own. (I also haven't updated those 2 stories in over one month). I have 3 current stories but this one is the lowest on my priority list. It's not that I don't care about this story because I do but I already have the foundation of this story set. My Spider-Man fic is only 2 chapters in and the other one is a 5 +1 that I'll finish by the end of October. Expect an update for this story around then. I've also deleted chapter 9 because frankly, I got lazy and it makes me cringe re-reading it. When I repost the edited version of Chapter 9, i'll delete this. Thank you to everyone who reviews and reads this story and I promise that I will get back to weekly updates by the time September rolls around. As for the readers on AO3, I will delete this story when I update the story. If you want to continue reading, you can go to my fanfiction account under the same username.

-TheSpeedOfZoran


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